Devils Gameday Preview: Hosting the Sabres With Several Players Returning to the Lineup – The Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils

On Sunday, Dec. 21, the New Jersey Devils are getting ready to host the Buffalo Sabres for their second matchup of the season. The Devils just closed out a two-game West Coast road trip with a win against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth. With two straight wins under their belt, the Devils will look to keep that momentum alive on home ice. 

Related: Devils’ Star Jack Hughes Will Play Tonight After Missing 18 Games to Hand Injury

The Sabres have also been on quite a tear themselves. Buffalo has won their last five straight games. After two games at home, the Sabres are coming to New Jersey to begin a two-game road trip before the holiday break. Buffalo began their win streak on the road against the Edmonton Oilers; they’ll try to sustain the win streak tonight. 

The Devils came out swinging in their first game, shutting out the Sabres with a 5-0 victory in Buffalo. 

Devils Storylines

Ahead of the game, the Devils announced they have activated Timo Meier from the non-roster list. He went back to Switzerland to tend to a family matter. Hopefully, everything is all right now that Meier is back in New Jersey with his team. His return is certainly welcome as the Devils prepare to take on the Sabres tonight. 

Meier is not the only player returning to the team tonight. Jack Hughes confirmed he will be back with his team after their morning skate. Hughes last played on Nov. 12. He injured his hand in a freak accident at a team dinner and missed 18 games. Hughes will certainly look to make a big impact on the ice after being away from his team for so long.

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes celebrates his goal against the Colorado Avalanche (Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images)

Arseni Gritsyuk is joining his teammates Meier and Hughes for his first game back since Dec. 11. He was placed on injured reserve (IR) after he sustained an upper-body injury in this game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While he only missed four games, his absence was palpable. Having three strong forwards return to the lineup, the Devils will be in top form tonight against Buffalo. 

At the optional practice ahead of this game, there was also a sign of life for Johnathan Kovacevic. He has been injured since last year’s playoffs when he sustained a knee injury that required surgery. While there is no indication he’ll be returning soon, the fact that he is back on the ice after such a brutal injury is a great sign for his recovery. 

The player to watch in this game is Meier. His quick return from his personal leave is admirable. Of course, he reserves the right to hold all the details to himself and should feel no pressure to share any details. Glad to have him back with the Devils so soon.

Team Stats

New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 20-14-1

Top Scorers:

Jesper Bratt – 6 goals (G), 23 assists (A), 29 points (P)

Nico Hischier – 10 G, 18 A, 28 P

Timo Meier – 11 G, 12 A, 23 P

Dawson Mercer – 10 G, 12 A, 22 P

Jack Hughes – 10 G, 10 A, 20 P

Goalie Stats:

Jake Allen – 10-7-0, 2.49 goals-against average (GAA), .912 save percentage (SV%)

Jacob Markstrom – 9-7-1, 3.40 GAA, .881 SV%

Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%

Buffalo Sabres
Season Record: 16-14-1

Top Scorers:

Tage Thompson – 18 G, 13 A, 31 P

Alex Tuch – 11 G, 18 A, 29 P

Rasmus Dahlin – 4 G, 23 A, 27 P

Josh Doan – 10 G, 14 A, 24 P

Jason Zucker – 9 G, 9 A, 18 P

Goalie Stats:

Alex Lyon – 8-6-3, 2.92 GAA, .906 SV%

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 4-5-1, 2.91 GAA, .884 SV%

Colten Ellis – 4-3-0, 3.25 GAA, .895 SV%

Projected Lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.

New Jersey Devils

Jesper Bratt — Jack Hughes — Timo Meier
Ondrej Palat — Nico Hischier — Dawson Mercer
Arseni Gritsyuk — Cody Glass — Connor Brown
Paul Cotter — Luke Glendening — Stefan Noesen

Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Brenden Dillon — Colton White

Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen

Scratched: Nathan Legare, Dennis Cholowski, Angus Crookshank, Juho Lammikko

Injured: Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Simon Nemec, Johnathan Kovacevic

Buffalo Sabres

Peyton Krebs — Tage Thompson — Josh Doan
Zach Benson — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
Noah Ostlund — Josh Norris — Alex Tuch
Jordan Greenway — Josh Dunne — Beck Malenstyn

Mattias Samuelsson — Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram — Zach Metsa
Owen Power — Michael Kesselring

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Alex Lyon

Scratched: Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen

Injured: Tyson Kozak, Jason Zucker, Jiri Kulich, Justin Danforth, Conor Timmins, Colten Ellis

Next Up for the Devils

The Devils have one more road trip before the holiday break, but this one is a lot closer than the West Coast; the Devils will travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday, Dec. 23.

The season series will conclude in New Jersey on Feb. 25.